Rangel’s Day in Court

Actually, it won’t quite be a court — though it could be down the road. A House ethics subcommittee has found that the erstwhile Ways & Means chairman likely violated House rules, a decision Rangel contested. So, in order to resolve the matter, an “adjudicatory subcommittee” must be convened to hear out the case. The first hearing will be on July 29 and it will be open to the public, as is tradition.

The investigation into Rangel and his yielding of the Ways & Means gavel while the process dragged out has been considered a victory by ethics watchdogs and a sign that the newly-formed Office of Congressional Ethics has been a success. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, under pressure from groups including the Congressional Black Caucus, is reportedly considering weakening OCE or disbanding it altogether after the next elections.